Duchess of Bedford to Dedicate Tahr Statue

“We are extremely pleased that our tahr
statue will be dedicated by Henrietta, Dowager Duchess of
Bedford in recognition of the contribution made by the Dukes
of Bedford and the Russell family, to the preservation of
the Himalayan tahr internationally,” said Garry Ottmann
Executive Director of the Game and Forest
Foundation.

Thomas Donne and his New Zealand Tourist
Department during the early 1900s undertook a program of
introducing some of the world’s premier game animals into
New Zealand. His intention was to:

“…. induce the
world traveller to include New Zealand in his itinerary and
to tempt our Australian neighbours to come across the Tasman
Sea to enjoy the physical marvels and delightful climate of
New Zealand.”

In 1904, the Duke of Bedford presented the
NZ Government with a gift of three male and three female
Himalayan tahr from his private herd at Woburn Park,
Bedfordshire, in Great Britain. One animal died on the sea
voyage but the remaining five tahr were released near the
old Hermitage at Mt Cook where they adapted well to their
new surroundings. In 1909, the Duke sent a further shipment
of another six males and two females, which were also
released in the same area.

New Zealand has the only
substantial wild herd of tahr outside their native India and
Nepal. Internationally tahr are listed on the International
Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) “Red List”
of endangered species. On this list tahr are designated as
“Near Threatened” said Garry Ottmann.

Tahr today are a
national and international conservation and hunting
resource. New Zealand is the only country where tahr can be
hunted in a free-range natural alpine environment. Thousands
of locals and international visitors hunt tahr in New
Zealand each year generating millions of dollars for the New
Zealand economy.

“There can be no more fitting a place
for the monument to such an important animal to New Zealand
than on a large boulder overlooking Lake Pukaki framed by
Aoraki, Mt Cook. Thomas Donne’s original goal has been
more than realised” said Garry Ottmann

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